My name is Ashley Ridgway a BFA graduate from Kutztown University, an artist, and a liaison between the Linda Matney Gallery and its clients. I’m no stranger to real estate. In my 22 years, I’ve lived in about 15 houses from Connecticut and Pennsylvania to my new location in Williamsburg, Virginia. As an intern for the Linda Matney Gallery, I had the opportunity to interview Lynette Tully of Liz Moore and Associates about how our current display of art in their foyer impacts the space.

In our interview, Lynette told me that she and her coworkers at Liz Moore love having art from the gallery featured in their lobby. She noted the works’ ability to bring life to the space and start conversations amongst the staff. Both clients and associates at Liz Moore frequently stop to look at the pieces in the lobby, Lynette Says. In a way, the installation encourages people to stop and smell the roses during their daily grind. The pieces also serve to add to the homey feel in the Liz Moore lobby and avoid a stark office atmosphere.

Fitting with the show’s title, given by curator John Lee Matney, Lynette confirms that the more often you look at a pice, the more likely you are to see something that you missed the very first time. “They sort of become part of your daily life,” she says. Talking about past shows, she says, “We definitely notice a difference when they leave.”

"Taking the Time to Look, presented by the Linda Matney Fine Art Gallery, is an exhibit of six artists associated with the College of William and Mary. Multi- tasking and technology distract from the process of "looking" at works of art and appreciating the true nature of our inner lives and the world around us. Each of the selected artists has produced works that reflect, navigate, and celebrate the transformative nature of art on our perceptions of reality. These perceptions, in turn, can transform ourselves and the spaces where we live and work for the better. Whatever the media from painting and drawing to sculpture much of the works in this exhibit tend toward a softer palette which lends itself to numerous decorative applications."